SHARING BREAD
23 “At that time if anyone says
to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false
prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the
elect--if that were possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.”
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”
Matt
24:23-28 (NIV)
In our verses for today, the Lord Jesus provides us with further
warnings to prevent us from being fooled by false Christs and false prophets
when the birth pains of the latter days begin.
These feigned religious characters will apparently abound in the end
times - preaching salvation and working wonders and signs seeking to deceive
even the elect – “if
that were possible”. Times of great trouble are times of great
temptations as well and it is necessary to be doubly on our guard. We are warned ahead of time so that we will
not be duped. The Lord will not work in this
way – He does everything in the light - yet these things will occur prior to
His returning. Satan always seeks to
counterfeit God and he does so here with miracles seeking to evoke an attitude
of awe from those observing them. Paul
tells us in 2 Thessalonians:
9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance
with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs
and wonders, 10 and
in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish
because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 2 Thess 2:9-10 (NIV)
This is not too dissimilar to Pharaoh’s magical guru’s in
Exodus who performed signs to copy Moses and Aaron:
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the
LORD commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his
officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh
then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the
same things by their secret arts: 12 Each
one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed up
their staffs. Ex 7:10-12 (NIV)
Next the Lord tells us what to expect upon His return. He will be as visible and conspicuous as
lightning from the east is noticeable in the west – indeed every eye will
behold Him:
26 “Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is
coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a
cloud with power and great glory. 28 When
these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your
redemption is drawing near.” Luke
21:26-28 (NIV)
7 Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see
him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn
because of him. So shall it be! Amen. Rev
1:7 (NIV)
Truth seeks no corners, no secrets, nothing hidden all disclosed,
everything made manifest. Christ
preached the gospel openly not secretively and it could not be stopped then or
now. Beware of secrets. There is freedom in Truth. Indeed, Jesus came as the Truth
embodied. Christ is also the Great
Liberator who sets believers free from the bondage of sin and death. He tells us in John:
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (NIV)
1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand
firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Gal 5:1 (NIV)
“The best protection against Satan’s lies is to know God’s truth.” Anonymous
“To do what is right is to side with the truth of God. And never doubt it, the truth of God will always prevail.” “To do what is right is to join the winning side of the fight, though the battle will not be without pain or struggle.” Chuck Swindoll
What I glean from this:
·
The
lawless one will perform many counterfeit signs and miracles deceiving those
who are perishing.
·
Jesus’
return will be visible and conspicuous to all.
·
Truth
has no secrets – nothing hidden all disclosed everything made manifest.
